An examination of quality performance at different levels in a connected supply chain: a preliminary case study Available to Purchase

This paper is a preliminary case study that examines a connected supply chain. The chain studied consists of the North American Appliance Division of the Whirlpool Corporation, the Stanley Engineered Components (SEC) division of Stanley Works, Inc. and SEC’s suppliers. Specifically the paper examines the two related questions: first, are there differences in quality definitions between levels of a supply chain? Second, does the higher level entity in the supply chain understand the quality requirements imposed on their suppliers? Examined and written from the point of view of SEC (the middle of the chain), the paper concludes that the definitions and implementation of these definitions differ markedly at each level. Lack of understanding about the effects of quality requirements between levels also prevails. The case also examines why these results occurred.